5. P R E D A T O R S : Nightmares

Part I: CHAPTER V

Syha'h opened her eyes and saw—

—nothing.

The hallway appeared to be normal... but Syha'h knew better. She could feel a presence—one not unlike that of her master. She stood slowly.

Ymg' mgah'n'ghft, R'luhhor.

As expected, the scene shifted again. This time, however, instead of a black shape standing in an empty hallway, the lights turned red, the cells became empty, and a human woman appeared, invisible to anyone without the sight of the Faithful.

Syha'h's long tongue flicked out and licked her lips nervously. She fell to one knee, eyes still on the Old One. "Cthylla," she breathed. "Fhalgof'n ot Throdog Ehye."

The girl laughed. "It's been a while since I spoke the language of the Old Ones," she stated, using the lesser speech of the Unfaithful. "I'm so used to Russian and English."

Syha'h frowned uncertainly. "Which language would you prefer?" she asked cautiously.

"Let's keep it simple and do English." Cthylla crossed her host's arms. "Girls?" she called. "Join the group chat."

On cue, four other female voices said, "Iiahe ymg' gotha, Fhalgof'n ot Throdog Ehye."

Syha'h's eyes widened in shock as her former allies—Six, Lipstichz, Emo, and Pop—each appeared in their respective cells. "What...?"

"Oh, come on, Syha'h," Cthylla said, smiling. "You didn't really think your group was the only one to seek out the hellfire, did you?"

"I... I..."

"Before we knew of the optimal location to collect it, Father sent out various Faithful units," Cthylla told her, inspecting a nail. "They searched the world and found nothing. Unfortunately, after their service, your friends returned here to continue their petty ways."

"It was better than sitting around doing nothing," Six grumbled.

Cthylla rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it was."

"What do you want from me?" Syha'h asked, gritting her teeth.

"I want to know what went wrong," Cthylla snapped, suddenly appearing inside Syha'h's cells and glaring down at the cultist as she scrambled backward in fear. "I know you felt the Opening. I know you know what was supposed to happen. What I do NOT know is why the other Old Ones haven't come!"

"I—I don't know!" Syha'h cried. "Who did you use for the opening?"

"The fennec fox boy," Cthylla replied. "Vision. Or Mgn'ghftephai, if you wanna get technical."

Syha'h looked off the side. "No wonder," she breathed. "He's a descendant of the All-in-One. The One-in-All. The Opener of the Way!"

"I know that!" Cthylla spat. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"The Opener is not bound within this universe," Syha'h reminded Cthylla. "He has no stake on this planet. He has no desire for it. So he'd have no reason to help the other Outer Gods or the Old Ones!"

"Are you saying he double-crossed us?" Cthylla hissed, clenching her host's hands into fists.

"It is most probable," Syha'h confirmed, backing up a bit more. "It is more likely that he aimed not to help the Old Ones, but... the Oldest One."